Chinese symbol for “essence”
本质
běn zhì
Traditional: 本質
essence; nature; innate character; intrinsic quality
The closest CC-CEDICT match for essence is 本质 (běn zhì), defined as: essence; nature; innate character; intrinsic quality.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “essence”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 精 | jīng | essence; extract |
| 性 | xìng | nature; character |
| 精神 | jīng shén | spirit; mind |
| 精髓 | jīng suǐ | marrow; pith; quintessence; essence |
| 实质 (實質) | shí zhì | substance; essence |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 本质.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 根本 | gēn běn | fundamental; basic |
| 基本 | jī běn | basic; fundamental |
| 版本 | bǎn běn | version; edition |
| 资本 (資本) | zī běn | capital (economics) |
| 本来 (本來) | běn lái | original; originally |
| 本身 | běn shēn | itself; in itself |
| 质量 (質量) | zhì liàng | (physics) mass; quality (i.e. degree of excellence) |
| 物质 (物質) | wù zhì | matter; substance |
See also: Japanese symbol for “essence”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.